The masking of a portion of an article or surface to be painted is a common step in many painting processes from the painting of architectural structures to motor vehicles and the like. A widely accepted method involves the use of a combined paper and pressure sensitive adhesive tape strip such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,374,103. Although the combined paper and adhesive tape has found wide acceptance, it has several significant shortcomings. The shortcomings are particularly present in the painting of motor vehicles and particularly motor vehicles having a vinyl or other plastic or fabric top. Whereas an unintentionally painted window or chrome strip may be readily cleaned, a vinyl surface often cannot be cleaned without defacing the vinyl. For this reason, it is especially important that the vinyl top of the vehicle be securily protected from spray paint.
With the use of the conventional protective paper and adhesive tape strip the bond between the masking material and the automobile is the adhesive strip positioned along the edge of the paper. Because the paper itself is bulky, it is often difficult to position the paper accurately so that the adhesive strip carefully follows the line of demarcation between the area to be painted and that to be masked. Furthermore, because of the inherent difficulty in handling the paper and adhesive strip, portions of the adhesive strip may become coated with oil or grease. Under the stress caused by a blast of air or of the spray paint, the adhesive tape can pull away slightly from the masked area permitting paint to escape under the protective coating.